Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Andrew Jones.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To note the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 20 July 2021 were noted. As this was an informal meeting, minutes will be formally agreed at the next meeting.

This meeting is being held remotely on Zoom and will be live streamed

to YouTube: https://youtu.be/jonF2_FRXYA

If you would like to ask a question at the meeting about any of the items

on the agenda please send your question to governance@lbhf.gov.uk

by 12 noon on Friday, 5 November.

No public questions were received.

The Chair welcomed Jonathan Pickstone, (the new Strategic Director, The Economy) to his first Economy, Housing and the Arts Policy and Accountability Committee meeting.

Jonathan Pickstone introduced himself and provided an update on recent activities within the Economy Department. Further to the Business Support update at the July meeting, he explained that a range of initiatives had been launched to support small independent businesses across the borough. These included an e-commerce platform to allow businesses to compete against larger online suppliers, assistance to help small businesses successfully bid for Council contracts and support to help them to become digitally enabled.

Additional workstreams included: a set of hardship recovery grants, measures to improve high street footfall and a fund that had been created to bring local businesses and community groups together to work on projects such as lighting /  floor displays and well as local events. It was noted that £200k had been won from the European Social Fund to assist residents access training and employment. 

In relation to Housing, Jonathan Pickstone explained the Stock Condition Survey (covering every tenanted home in the next two years)  had started in October 2021 which would inform the Council’s capital investment in Housing for the next 12 years. Officers were also collecting data on ways to reduce carbon emissions, as well as, ensuring the Council met its health and safety obligations.

Updates were provided on the work being done to resettle Afghan refugees, the Disabled Peoples Strategy (including the Disabled Peoples’ Housing Group) and the focus of the Capital works Programme  - fire doors, digital warden systems and video-controlled access to all sheltered housing.

In relation to Estates Based Services, Jonathan Pickstone explained that procurement for a new grounds maintenance contract had been concluded and an announcement would be made in the near feature. It was also noted that Pinnacle Cleaning and Caretaking contract had achieved its highest performance standards in the last 3 years.

Concluding his remarks, Jonathan Pickstone provided  brief summaries for the Council’s Delivery of Affordable Homes and Fire Safety Housing reports which were considered in due course.

This report provides an update on the range of environmental improvement projects that the council’s Resident Involvement Team in the Economy Department has undertaken with the resident-led Investment Group and showcases projects that deliver direct benefits to our communities.

It also provides an update on the wider involvement structure in housing and how H&F as a whole is coming together to develop a community engagement strategy to support the communities we serve.

Daniel Miller (Head of Community Engagement /Resident Involvement & Service Improvement Manager), gave a brief introduction and asked Magda Goncalves – (Resident Involvement and Governance Manager),  to provide a presentation on the  environmental improvement projects (EIP) delivered between 2020 and 2021, where over £500k of improvements had been undertaken on council housing estates. The presentation covered what EIP were, the levels of investment and the projects funded by the investment group. Further topics included: the 2020/21 Place Environmental Rejuvenation Programme Bids, updates on Neighbourhood Improvement Project (NIP) Bids in the North and South of the borough and the successful implementation of the H&F Urban Ecology Trail.

In the second part of the presentation, Daniel Miller gave an overview of Housing Involvement work. Information was provided on the Resident Involvement Strategy 2019 to 2022, the changing nature of involvement and engagement since the Covid-19 pandemic and current projects being worked on. Finally, information was provided on future activities and workstreams.

The Chair welcomed the comprehensive updates and acknowledged that a significant amount had been achieved since the last update.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked a series of questions. In relation to the sustainability of EIPs, she enquired if these were going to last and how they were going to be maintained. Turning to anecdotal evidence, she raised drug dealing which had occurred at St Peter’s Terrace and enquired whether planters and furniture would be removed to curtail this. In response, Daniel Miller confirmed that a joined-up approach was being taken and most of the projects were delivered by Idverde, who was also the Council’s grounds maintenance contractor. This meant it was important sustainable solutions were delivered which dovetailed with existing maintenance plans. With regards to longevity, Daniel Miller confirmed that the wood used for planters, seating and playground equipment was tantalised wood which had an estimated shelf-life of 15 years.

Addressing the St Peter’s Terrace issues, Daniel Miller confirmed that a Housing Management plan was in place to address these issues and the area of concern did not relate to the NIP project undertaken there.

Action: Daniel Miller to provide Cllr Adronie Alford with an update on the St Peter’s Terrace issues.

Councillor Adronie Alford commented that she had recently attended a Sheltered Housing Forum meeting and she was concerned about the reduced number of resident attendees. She asked whether a decline in numbers was representative of other forums. In response, Daniel Miller confirmed that this was not representative of other forums and he cited the Housing Representative Forum which had recently been attended by 20 resident representatives (which was an average number). However, he acknowledged attendance was important and officers were looking at ways to support representatives attend forums in greater numbers in the future, such as through more support to access online meetings and exploring the use of hybrid meetings in the future at a time when it’s safe to do so.

Councillor Adronie Alford acknowledged that officers were acting on a variety of involvement fronts and queried whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

This report provides an update on the Council’s delivery of affordable homes and its commitment made in the Building Homes and Communities Strategy in July 2019 to build 1,800 homes over the next 10 years.

It also outlines how the development programme embeds coproduction with local residents at the heart of development activities, as well as how the development team are playing their part in helping the Council achieve its ambitious net-zero carbon targets.

Matt Rumble – (Strategic Head for Regeneration and Development), introduced the item which provided an update on the Council’s delivery of affordable homes. It was noted that until relatively recently, the Council’s ability to deliver housing was restricted by the government caps on the way the Council was able to borrow to deliver new homes. In late 2018, central government announced the scrapping of the HRA debt cap, which meant councils had greater freedoms to borrow to invest in existing and new housing stock.

Matt Rumble provided a short presentation. This covered: the Building Homes and Communities Strategy 2019 and its objectives, and the development and approval / financing process. Information was provided on the Defend Council Homes Policy, the Partnership Programme, and: the Education City programme, the White City Central project, the operational net zero carbon construction elements and Spring Vale Development.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked officers to provide further details on the funding / costs of the development programme. In response, Matt Rumble confirmed the total costs were £500 million. He explained that the Council borrowed from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), how these mechanisms worked; and how in the long term, the rent generated from the new homes paid off the remaining debt. It was also noted that the Council also bid for grant money from the GLA to offset the cost of delivering affordable homes and used Right to Buy money in the same way.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked officers to define what a Youth Zone was and provide details on its size and sustainability. In response, Matt Rumble confirmed this was a designated space for young people to engage in positive activities (incorporating a multi-use games sports area – MUGA - on the roof) with various activity rooms, with the total floor space mirroring the MUGA. In relation to its use / viability, Matt Rumble explained that On Side – the provider – needed to produce a business plan which was then signed off by the Council’s Education’s Commissioning Team.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked for clarification on the total number of homes for the Hartopp and Lannoy site. In response, Matt Rumble confirmed this was for 134 homes.

Councillor Adronie Alford asked for further details to be provided on the breakdown of house sizes within the projected 134 homes and also the garage site. Matt Rumble explained that officers determined the housing needs of the borough from the Housing Register and sought to create a mix within new developments to meet this need. In relation  to the garage site, he explained that officers were about to start a consultation with residents about a small development on that site.

The Chair, Councillor Rory Vaughan, welcomed that there was a significant amount of genuinely affordable housing being delivered by the programmes which had been highlighted. He asked if more detail could be provided on how the climate emergency had been factored into new homes. Matt Rumble confirmed the Council was designing new buildings (net carbon zero)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

As a landlord, H&F is the Responsible Person in law for managing fire safety of its 17,000 housing properties, of which just over 12,000 are tenanted households.

This report provides an overview of the fire safety arrangements in place, on-going monitoring and reporting arrangements and planned capital fire safety works.

Richard Buckley – (AD Resident and Building Safety Housing) introduced the report which provided an overview of the fire safety arrangements in place, on-going monitoring and reporting arrangements and planned capital fire safety works.

He explained that officers met with London Councils on a bi-monthly basis and these meetings were also attended by the Department for Levelling Up, GLA and Fire Brigade. During these meetings,  the London Fire Brigade provided an update on the status of large buildings and their evacuation procedures. It was noted that London had 60% of all the tower blocks nationally (of 6 blocks or above). He explained that one London Borough with 14 tower blocks was incurring costs of £450k per month in waking watch which many boroughs charged to leaseholders. Whereas in Hammersmith and Fulham, it was noted that the Administration had decided not to charge any leaseholders for these costs (or any associated fire safety costs).

Details were provided on accountabilities and the implications of the Buildings Safety Bill which was passing through Parliament. At this stage, it was still uncertain whether the height of tower blocks would be altered from 18 metres to 11 metres which would significantly increase the number of buildings officers would need to register. The roles and responsibilities of the Buildings Safety Bill regulator were provided and the requirement for all buildings of 18 meters or over to have a safety case file were discussed. It was apparent that the Buildings Safety Bill increased duties of care and held responsible persons / bodies to account.

Richard Buckley confirmed a Fire Safety Management system was in place to ensure buildings were safe for residents. It was noted that over 1,500 fire risk assessments had been conducted  for buildings of 6 storeys or above and these were reviewed annually, as were higher risk buildings such as sheltered housing and hostels. The Committee were reassured that when fires took place, processes and procedures were reviewed to see if any new learning had emerged. It was noted that as part of planned works all fire detection systems would be upgraded as part of an overall electrical upgrade over the next 5 years.

Information was provided on the Fire Safety Plus Scheme and fire safety measures which the Administration had committed to under its Capital Programme in 2018. The update also included details of the works which had been conducted In  Edward Woods (sprinkler systems) and Drake and Shackleton (sprinkler, fire detection systems and new evacuation plans). Richard Buckley confirmed the Council had its own specific Fire Safety Team for delivering works and Bazaars were currently conducting and independent safety audit of the Council

Making initial remarks, Councillor Lisa Homan commented it was vital that all Councillors were aware of the work which was being done on fire safety, as all Councillors were responsible for ensuring residents were safe. As Cabinet Member for Housing, she explained she had fortnightly updates which provided rolling updates of how works were progressing.  Given the challenging situation,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.